Monday, 20 March, 2017: The Solemnity of St. Joseph

The First Vespers of the Feast will be celebrated Sunday afternoon, replacing the Second Vespers of the Third Sunday of Lent. The Solemnity is transferred to Monday, 20 March to allow the full Lenten cycle; the Third Sunday of Lent initiates the First Scrutiny of the Catachumens who will be received into the Church this year at the Paschal Vigil. The Scrutinies aim to reinforce the good intentions of the candidates, while strengthening and healing what is weak. This rite of conversion is intimately connected to the Sunday Gospels and, thus, the Solemnity of Saint Joseph is deferred to Monday. The community Mass will be celebrated at 7:00 AM, integrated with Festal Lauds, Fr. James presiding and offering a brief reflection on the Solemnity’s Gospel.